Mountain Bike Mania by Matt Christopher Read Free Book Online Page B

holes. He was surprised Ace had taken him here, knowing
     Will had been riding less than a week. “Does the club ever come here?”
    “Are you kidding?” Ace asked with a snort. “They would never come to a place like this! They’re attached to the school, right?
     So they have to worry about insurance and stuff, like if somebody got hurt and sued.”
    “Yeah, I can see how they might worry about that,” Will agreed.
    “It wasn’t too much for you, was it?” Ace asked slyly.
    Will quickly shook his head. “Me? Nah.”
    “Great!” Ace said, grinning broadly. “A mountain biker is born! Let’s do it again!”
    Will had felt the thrill of it, for sure, but he’d also been scared stiff—this trail was far too advanced for him, and he
     knew it. “Uh, actually,” Will said, “I should be getting back. I’m supposed to go to the mall with my folks later.”
    “Okay,” Ace said. “I’ll see you Monday.”
    “You’re not going back?” Will asked, surprised.
    “Nah, what for?” Ace asked. “If I show up at the bike store, my dad will just put me to work. It’s my weekend, you know? I’d
     rather hang out here, even if it is by myself.”
    “What about Steve and Mitch? How come you didn’t ask them to come?” Will asked.
    “Them? Mitch’s parents make him and his sister go to their country house every weekend, and Steve used to come, but lately,
     his folks…” His voice trailed off.
    “What?” Will asked.
    Ace frowned. “They don’t like for their baby to ride with the big bad wolf, here,” he said, pointing tohimself. “They think I’m gonna get little Stevie in trouble.”
    “Are you?” Will asked, jokingly, but curious about the answer.
    “You’re still in one piece, aren’t you?” Ace asked.
    “Yeah.” Barely, he added silently.
    “You had fun, right?”
    “Yeah,” Will said again, only with less certainty.
    “So okay,” Ace concluded. “See? Nothing to worry about. See you Monday, huh?”
    “Sure thing,” Will said, and kicked off down the dirt track that led toward the main road. “See you.”
    As he pedaled, Will thought again about the gum wrapper Ace had deliberately dropped on the trail. Such a small thing, really.
     And yet, more than Ace’s poor judgment in taking Will to a trail that was way too advanced for him, it was the gum wrapper
     that, for some strange reason, seemed to stick in Will’s mind.
    On Monday it rained hard all day, and when Will checked at the gym doors at two-thirty, none of the club members was there.
     He figured the meetingwas canceled and just went home. So he was surprised that night when Gail Chen called and asked where he’d been.
    “We were meeting in the gym office,” she told him. “That’s where we go when the weather’s just too bad. Sorry, I should have
     told you that.”
    “It’s okay,” Will said. “Next time I’ll know. Hey, where are we going on Wednesday?”
    “To the South Fork Reservation,” Gail said. “There are lots of nice trails there. Not too hilly, in case it’s still soggy
     from today.”
    “Why, what happens when it’s soggy?” Will asked. “I thought getting dirty was part of the fun.”
    “Yeah, up to a point,” Gail agreed with a giggle. “But the trails get bad ruts if you skid on them while they’re wet. Then
     the ruts harden as they dry, and the trail gets really messed up.”
    “I see,” Will said, thinking of the muddy trail Ace had taken him to. The two of them had dug some ruts for sure. Will almost
     mentioned it, but something made him hold back. “Well, sorry I missed you today, anyway,” he said. “See you Wednesday.”
    Will hung up and stared out his window at the rain, still coming down hard on the windowpane.He had already eaten dinner and done his homework, so he took out the book he’d gotten from the library — a novel about mountain
     biking, where this bunch of kids gets stranded on a wilderness ride.
    Funny, but ever since he’d started it, Will had